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China has gone a long way in road safety in the past 10 years or so. Currently all traffic rules are strictly enforced, thanks to the millions of intelligent traffic cams. Speed limits, safety belts, helmets on scooters and motorcycles, limitation of people allowed to be transported both in cars and motorcycles...

When I first started driving in China, back in 2006, it was a jungle, no rules. You could see 5 people in one scooter, no helmets, no lights, driving in the opposite direction.

It was similar with cars. Very little enforcement of the traffic laws back then. I think it was around 2017 that I started noticing more enforcement (basically because that year I lost all 12 points in my driving license - twice!) due to traffic cams doing their job. Later came the enforcement of prevention systems: belts, helmets.

Nowadays I feel rather safe when my kids drive their bicycles to school in Pudong, Shanghai.

I think the biggest difference between driving here and in my home country (Spain), is that when the traffic light is red, if you need to turn right and there is no people or no vehicles at risk, you may turn. This makes traffic a bit more fluid I believe. Of course there are other things that, though not "legal", are still not enforced, such as the long beam lights at night, most vehicles use them, or the right lane on speedways not being used by heavy vehicles (it is often the best choice for overtaking - since it is usually clear). Yes, overtaking on the right is not allowed by Chinese traffic rules either, but it seems this is not being enforced.